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B&W cdm7nt experiences

Just inserted a pair of CDM7NT's into what I consider a good, old, mid-fi system. Still breaking in, but they seem bright, even sizzly. The tweeter sound seems more forward than the rest of the spectrum, it's a bit distracting. Nice low end. Have other CDMxNT listeners had this experience? Of course there are lots of things to tweak, but I'd appreciate a baseline sense of how much of this brightness is just the rest of my system vs the speakers themselves. If you have found good matching components for your CDM's, what were they? I'm running British (Musical) Fidelity Preamp 3B, Marantz 140 pwr, older Sony mobile CD player, Thorens TT, Ortofon cartridge, 12ga. zip cord speaker cables, Straightwire IC. Am ready to start upgrading, probably starting with better CD and biwiring. All suggestions welcome, thanks in advance.
kdmeyer88fd
7 responses Add your response
kevperro
72 posts
 
Let them break in before you get start making changes. Once they are broken in then you can try replacing one thing at a time.
frmont
16 posts
 
I agree with Kevperro, break them in before you start to make changes. I own a pair of CDM1NTs. When I first put them in my system I was not impressed, I thought the sound was harsh, and bright. After a breakin period of 7 days at 12 hrs. a day the speakers really started to come alive. Nice detailed highend, smooth midrange, and for their size the low end isn't to bad. I am still experimenting with speaker cable,but would highly recommend bi-wiring. I am also running British gear. M/F A300 int. amp., A3CDP.
ejlif's avatar
ejlif
1,370 posts
 
In my experience, a good friend owned a pair of CDM7se, they are very sensitive to what upstream components are connected. They really benefit from biwiring as well. He got excellent results with a Jolida tube amp and a Rotel CD Player. Mellow interconnect such as Audioquest Lapis can help out quite a bit as well
ehm3
26 posts
 
I agree with all of the above posts. B&W speakers are extremely revealing. They also require substantially more break-in time than other brands. I think you will be fine after they are broken in. This can take more than 100 hours on your CDM7's. I work for a B&W dealer, and every new pair I take out of the box has the exact qualities you mentioned. but after break-in, they take on a very engaging and natural sound. So put in a CD on repeat and let it play for a while. Good luck!
kdmeyer88fd OP
15 posts
 
Thanks for the information and reassurance. The 100 hour ballpark is useful to know. I must be patient:) After maybe 12 hours, I noticed a discrete change in the sound, for the better, and am hopeful that marks a trend. Reducing toe-in, to about zero, also seemed to help.
kgveteran
377 posts
 
I used to sell them. the problem is that they came from the "P" line.In the p-line the tweeter was a plastic material and the lower driver was close to the floor to give a close couple with the floor. The new cdm line moved the lower driver up and changed to a metal dome. Unless proper slopes and good poly caps are used metal domes do what you hear.In the future seek out a silk dome driver based system or a textile dome based system.Taddeo had a great line a few years ago.I know Tony from the Rochester area.The P-5 or P-6 is more what you might be interested in. Good luck.
thebisch
2 posts
 
The P series had a metal dome tweeter also.
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